Saib-e-Shaoor

We are familiar with the story of man’s “Original Sin” where Adam defied God’s injunction against the eating of the forbidden fruit.  Adam was expelled from Paradise as a result of it and, as per Biblical tradition, has ever since been ‘paying the price’ for his folly. In my poem “Saib-e-Shaoor” however, I have upended this Biblical story to foster a new meaning and challenge against it. The apple that Adam ate was indeed the fruit of knowledge, but without which his existence would be meaningless. Indeed, with the act of ‘knowing’ came an awareness of the true meaning of the Universe and the nature of the physical world in which he was placed. Knowledge provided man with the dignity which he had been deprived of before the ‘original-sin’ state was inflicted upon him. What has been termed ‘original sin’ in scriptures was the seminal moment of awareness which brought man face to face with his own mortality but also with the freedom of the intellect. He looked at the stars and began to understand the immensities of time and space, and the context of his own existence as a co-sharer of life on this earth with all other creatures. This was a moment which called for celebration, and not for feelings of eternal guilt and remorse.

Saib-e-Shaoor invites a re-think of the story.

saib-e-shaoor